Nov 11 2009 Karl Pilkington Gets His Round Head and Hangdog Face Animated
You should really be listening to the Ricky Gervais podcasts. If you are already, good job. If you're not... well, fine, but not listening because you "hate things made of sound" because they make you use your "brain eyes" is no longer a valid excuse (usually that would be a valid excuse). Soon, the audio series will be coming to HBO in the form of animation! No more using your brain eyes! You'll be able to use your eye eyes!
Here are a couple previews:
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Oct 26 2009 Golden Globes Sounding Marginally Better: Ricky Gervais Hosting 67th Ceremony
Good news for those of us with jobs that require us to toil through dreary awards shows to be aware of who/what our best movie/television people/things are. This year's Golden Globes, which, since 1995, have eschewed a host in favor of dividing blame amongst various presenters, are going to be hosted by British funny person Ricky Gervais:
Multi-talented Golden Globe and Emmy Award winner Ricky Gervais ("The Invention of Lying," "The Office") will host "The 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards" on Sunday, January 17, 2010 on NBC. This year's show will be broadcast live coast-to-coast from 5-8 p.m. (PT) and 8-11 p.m. (ET) from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills. This marks the first time the telecast has had a host since 1995.The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, dick clark productions and NBC made the announcement today.
"Not only is this the biggest Hollywood celebration of the industry which includes both film and TV, but also an environment where I feel I can get free reign as a host. I have resisted many other offers like this, but there are just some things you don't turn down," said Gervais.
Expect a show full of intentional arrogance, genuine laughter, and, if we're lucky, Karl Pilkington forced to make a fool of himself.
Below the cut, a visual reminder of how Ricky made the 2008 Emmy Awards more palatable.
Continue Reading " Golden Globes Sounding Marginally Better: Ricky Gervais Hosting 67th Ceremony "
Sep 22 2009 Karl Pilkington Reviews 'The Invention of Lying'
Make sure to watch part two below the cut to see whether or not Pilkington's spherical head considers the 1991 John Goodman comedy King Ralph better or worse than Ricky Gervais's new film.
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Jul 17 2009 Karl "The K Man" Pilkington in 'Cemetery Junction'
Ricky Gervais posted this on his blog, prefacing the photo with the warning:
It is a non-speaking role, but his is my favourite character in the whole movie of course. Are you fucking ready...?
I'll tell you, I was not fucking ready. That is too much to handle. He looks like a turn-of-the-century bartender. And cross-eyed!? Tell me the character is actually cross-eyed. Amazing.
(If you don't know why seeing cross-eyed, mustached Karl Pilkington is relevant, you really need to boot into your YouTube or Google or iTune and figure it out. I can't hold your hand forever.)
Jul 14 2009 'Invention of Lying' Poster: Discovery of Lies Makes You Jump High
The Korean Yes Man poster but with the addition of the Fox Trot dad's tie? Sure.
Jul 10 2009 'Cemetary Junction' Behind-the-Scenes: Eat It Again, Voldemort
From the BBC, here's a featurette that gives a behind-the-scenes look at a film high on my "G.D. I want to see this!" list, Cemetary Junction. We briefly get to see some scenes being shot, but more importantly, co-writers/directors Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant take the opportunity to take yet another stab at Ralph Fiennes:
Continue Reading " 'Cemetary Junction' Behind-the-Scenes: Eat It Again, Voldemort "
Jul 8 2009 'Cemetery Junction' Teaser: About Time Fiennes Gets His Comeuppance for 'Maid in Manhattan'
Want to see Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant mock Academy Award-nominated actor Ralph Fiennes to his face? Why wouldn't you? So enjoy.
Jun 29 2009 Another 'Invention of Lying' Trailer: See Lying's US-tailored Invention
Remember the Invention of Lying trailer on Friday? Good, because I'd hate having to explain the premise again, and there's now a domestic trailer for the comedy.
I particularly like Louis CK's reaction to Gervais's claim that he's an Eskimo. I thought I was the only one to ever express an unnaturally positive reaction to learning they've accidentally befriended an Inuk:
Continue Reading " Another 'Invention of Lying' Trailer: See Lying's US-tailored Invention "
Jun 26 2009 'Invention of Lying' Trailer: Prepare for ELO to Tell You to Feel Good
Hey, there's a trailer for the high concept, first-man-to-ever-lie comedy, The Invention of Lying. Something of a "We Are the World" of comedies, with appearances by all sort of people you don't expect to see all in one place--including Louis CK, Tina Fey, Rob Lowe, Jonah Hill, Jason Bateman, Christopher Guest, Jeffrey Tambor, John Hodgman, Patrick Stewart, Stephen Merchant, Freaks & Geeks's weirdest geek, and more--the film stars Ricky Gervais as the first man to conceive of untruths in a world that's never thought to lie.
I really wanted to like this, but about halfway through, around the time I started wondering why Robin Williams wasn't the star, my worries began. Hopefully this is just a bad, really broad trailer:
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Jun 23 2009 'Cemetery Junction' Photos: Gervais is a Blue Collar Badass
From Ricky Gervais's blog, the first shots of the actor-comedian sporting a popped collar and dangling cigarette on the set of Cemetery Junction. In the David Brent tradition, here's hoping I will regard this character as both laugh-out-loud hilarious and deeply, gut-wrenchingly tragic. That's my favorite combination of fictional human.
Jun 15 2009 Meet Your Partial 'Cemetary Junction' Cast
For your simple-to-assemble, esoteric-reference-based Halloween costume consideration: the young stars of creators Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's upcoming period film, Cemetary Junction. Seen here in a costume/makeup test, the three are what Gervais and Merchant saw as "the English 23 year-old, John Travolta, James Dean and Lou Costello." I was thinking "the '70s Jonas Brothers with John C. Reilly on bass," but I can see the Travolta/Dean/Costello thing too.
On a side note, I'm really interested to see how the Office creators will handle this less-pathetic-looking-than-usual cast.
Apr 29 2009 Gervais Playing Short, Fat, Sweaty Loser of His Made-Up Creature Book
Flanimals, the book series Stephen Merchant described as "The Ricky Gervais book for kids with pictures of made-up creatures in all different colors... drawings by his mate," is officially headed to movie time. Variety:
Universal-based Illumination Entertainment will create a 3-D animated feature based on "Flanimals," a children's book series by Ricky Gervais.Gervais will voice the lead character, and the script will be written by Matt Selman ("The Simpsons").
The four-volume series, illustrated by Rob Steen, encompasses a world inhabited by 50 species of creatures so ugly and misshapen they become cute and endearing. Gervais' character, a pudgy, perspiring purple creature, goes on a mission to change the world. "It will be great to play a short, fat, sweaty loser for a change," Gervais said. "A real stretch."
Pop culture snob children are already claiming Gervais's books will be vastly superior to this watered-down, American-written crap.
Apr 10 2009 Voldemort Joins 'Cemetary Junction'
Cemetary Junction (formerly Men at the Pru), Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's film "set in the 1970's about class and love in a small town," has added Ralph Fiennes to its cast. From Gervais's blog:
Started scouting locations today for CEMETERY JUNCTION.You may have read that we've cast Ralph Fiennes, which is fantastic. I bumped into him at the Toronto Film Festival and told him I had written a part with him in mind. I sent him the script and what do you know. He is such an amazing actor and will bring a real weight to the movie. Can't wait.
Frequent readers of this blog will know that Gervais and Merchant have already earned my unending respect and admiration for creating The Office, a show I love so much I'd give it daily baths in its old age. So, uh, I'll just say that Ralph Fiennes is an amazing actor and will bring a real weight to the movie. And please invite me to an advance screening.
Mar 27 2009 Sony (the Headphone Guys) Joins Gervais & Merchant Film
You're fanatical about The Office (UK) and Extras, right? Let's say you are, because otherwise you aren't going to care about this trivial update about Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's new film:
Sony has boarded Ricky Gervais' "The Men at the Pru."Pic will be the second U.K. production to come out of the Sony Intl. Motion Picture Production Group, run by Deborah Schindler.
Project is a coming-of-age tale about a group of men working at an insurance company in the 1970s.
Gervais is co-writing, directing and producing with longtime creative partner Stephen Merchant.
Gervais will also have a supporting role in the pic, which is set to go into production later this summer.
Also of minor note, despite Variety referring to the film as The Men at the Pru, Gervais says the title is still up in the air, adding that Cemetery Junction is the current favorite.
It's a really slow news day, if you couldn't tell.
Mar 24 2009 'This Side of the Truth' Update: Release Date! Title Confirmation!
On Ricky Gervais's blog, the comedian has posted a new video with himself and This Side of the Truth co-writer/co-director Matt Robinson. The two clear up a couple things:
1. Contrary to reports otherwise, the title is still This Side of the Truth, not Truthy Truthness.
2. The tentative release date is September 25, 2009.
Apologies for previously reporting the title had been changed to The Invention of Lying, and that the film would be released in 2010. Sometimes I forget the internet is a liar.
In case you want to hear it yourself, having learned your lesson about trusting internet words, here's the video:
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Jan 6 2009 The Closest I'll Come to a Year-End List Thing
I don't really get into the whole end-of-year "top ten best/worst films" thing. It seems like a lot of pointless work to summarize the year into ten good or bad things when I've already spent the entire year telling you how there were probably ten good things and everything else bad things. Also, I'm a fool, so I'd definitely be wrong about most everything, and you don't need my fool opinion stacked on the thousands of others--particularly when there are "Most Insanely Apple-esque Silverhawk Vehicles" lists to get to.
But what I will do is point you to the "top ten best/worst film" list I've most enjoyed reading so far: this one, by Ricky Gervais's writing/directing collaborator on This Side of the Truth, Matt Robinson. Though I don't entirely agree with his rankings (that's what makes lists fun?), his arguments for them almost convince me. I wouldn't normally place Ghost Town as a top-ten movie, but when I'm told "the ending makes me well up with tears like a little girl-gay," I'll maybe reconsider, and start using that phrase.
So read it, and feel free to mention any other reasonable year-end movie lists in the comments.
Oct 23 2008 Good News for Home Box Office Comedy
I don't have HBO (I possess nothing that could ever be regared as "premium" anything), but as a fan of DVD sets and criminal downloading, I'm pretty excited by a couple things I read today regarding the cable network's comedy lineup.
1. Variety reports Curb Your Enthusiasm season seven will start shooting in December, with ten new episodes coming next year. Who is Larry David going to provide disaster relief to this season? I can't wait to find out!
2. On Ricky Gervais's blog, he said (possibly joking?) he's started work on another Extras special:
Steve must have seen the thing in the press about me thinking about doing another Extras Special. He's in LA at the moment but the story that went out across America was that, although I would consider it, I thought Steve would take some convincing. Well I got an email today from him saying he's up for it. I started work on it immediately. Does anyone know Al Pacino?
Now where's news of a surprise Arrested Development special so we can hit my favorite-fairly-recent-television-comedy trifecta?
Aug 13 2008 'Ghost Town' Poster Sees Dead People, Like That One Movie
Dreamworks has released a new poster for Ghost Town that, thankfully, doesn't have an insane, nonsensical slogan. It does, however, provide evidence that Greg Kinnear may have some kind of opaque head clause in his contract.
God, Sixth Sense references: so hot right now.
Ghost Town Poster [IMPA]
Jul 14 2008 'Ghost Town' Trailer Now Haunting the Internet
Dreamworks has released the trailer to Ghost Town, starring Ricky Gervais, Greg Kinnear, and Tea Leoni. It looks something like if The Sixth Sense was a broad, moralistic comedy, or like a non-Christmas Carol-based Scrooged. Gervais looks typically entertaining as another variation of a jerkier version of himself, but the film appears otherwise unwatchably trite. How are assholes still being exemplified by stealing cabs and purposely closing elevators on people? At this point, that's no longer acting like a jerk--that's intentionally imitating the way poorly-written jerks act in movies, which is more like acting like a highly-disturbed sociopath. But I guess the summary "mean-spirited man gets rehabilitated by amusing ghosts" probably sells better than "imitative sociopath haunted by memories of Talk Soup."
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Jul 8 2008 New, Nonsensical Quote-Free Shots from 'Ghost Town'
After the worrisome poster that ended up being a fake, it's nice to see something from Ghost Town that doesn't include a giant, seemingly insane quote. "This is the best script I've read in years" actually makes sense as a quote, and I'll consider it an encouraging endorsement despite the hammy photo at the top. Summary!
In Ghost Town, Ricky plays misanthropic Bertram Pincus, who dies temporarily whilst under the knife.His thump with mortality yields a phantasmic if not fantastic consequence; Pincus gains the ability to perceive the ghostly remains of the deceased. He is not happy about this as they are apt to bother him. One in particular needs Pincus's to help break up the impending nuptials of his widow and her replacement squeeze.
Plus, if you look in the largest shot, you can see how they've found an impish, bizzaro version of longtime Gervais collaborator Stephen Merchant to stand beside the bed. How could this go wrong? (Many things could go wrong.)
New Images from GHOST TOWN [IESB]
